Nesting chair



y 1959 c. EAMES ET AL 2,893,469 NESTING CHAIR Filed March 5, 1956 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Fly. 6

INVENTORS, CHARLES EAMES, DON ALBINSON, DALE w. BAUER A TTbR/VE' Y July7, 1959 c. EAMES ET AL NESTING CHAIR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 5,1956 INVENTORS, CHARLES EAMES, DON ALBINSON, DALE W. BAUER A 7- %omws YUni ed 5W Patent nsert- 9 'NESTING harl s Eam ,ani D0 A bin pn, en and PBauerfLos Angeles, Calif.,-assignors toHermanMiller Fiirnitlire cbmpany,Z'e'fland Mich a corporation of Application March .15, 19156,, e so569,424 i111 9 3 t l-5 This invention relates jtp furniture constructionand more particularly to an improved chair. This invention also .a p plies to improved chairs capable of being vertically stacked one onanother for storage purposes and which can be joined together in orderly"rows when in use.

The chair of t his'finverition .isfsuitable for public seatfi ng use,such as auditoriums, schools, meeting houses, and churches. ,In suchinstitutional applications it is desirable'to use a large group ofchairs Whichcan be temporarily placed and then removed for compactstorage. .Chairs suitabletor this use are of numerous types and desi ns.One type :is the folding chair. Another-is adapted to being stacked oneon another in vertical columns lwithoutufolding. The stacking typeofchair is preferable overlth'effolding type because, or its comfort.

However stacking chairsh'avenot found ready-acceptance because they lackcertain essential features.

One disadvantage lof stacking chairs .is that they are usually heavierthan folding chairs because of the structure required to stackthemtone:011 another. If the ,strl t1cvture for supporting the chairs"in a vertical stack .is not "sufficientl -y,strongitgwill not; bearthe'load of the chairs either too heavy, too cumbersome for stackingvertically,

,1011jIIQLSUfilQiQHtIyjStEQQg for malcing a high vertical stack. *Thisinvention s -rdirected 'torprovidirrg ,a chair whichis compa ativ ly 1fl h a ad te ;-b i strerigthland stability :forrSI-aCking purposes.

Another object :of this invention is toprovide chairs whichcan'be'easil-yand temporarily joined together, thus,

v;automatically-.Controlling their alignment and I spacing.

mhai'r havingi a suppqrtingirame constructed of ,a minimn m number ofparts, thus being c'apable, of easy vfabrication, eassembly, handling,and replacement of parts.

Still another objectof ,tl-jislinvention fis to'provide atgconstrution'for chairs permitting the chairs to be loom.-

pact'ly stacked one upon another. The stacks formed by .th ese chairsarerelativelystable, thus reducing the danger 1 o estack s collaps'ingortipping "over.

Answer object o'f this -inve 'n'tio n is to provide chairs having asimple r'riearis' for locking them-together without the use of tools. I

0ther objects of our invention will 'become obvious --u on 1 reading-.the following specification in conjunction withthe accompanyingdrawings wherein:

Fig. l isa n oblique side :elevationabview of the :chair.

Fig. i2 is "a partial, s'side elevational view. of the chair showing thesupportingand r locling 'Jstructure.

--Fig. 3 is a 'fragmentary, front, .elevational, sectional viewof-zaliooktaken along the plane lII-III of Fig. '2.

Eig. is 'a fragmentary, afront ielevational zsectional viewer "a looptaken along .the zplane iIV-.:I'V of Fig. 6.

v gether at the'top by a crossp'ieice. 'Th eseat of the .the legs arepermitted itolpass oneacli' side of the mar The rear leg structure 22consists of the'two re" 2,893,469 re es ed JR? 7 51959 chairs stackedone upon another. v

Briefly, this inventionconeerris 'chair construet construction is simpleincluding identical ofit leg structures, each having la' p'a irffo'flegs jcoiin is'supported by these cross pieces. grace secured to eachside between Ithie jrontfland fie The side braces are securedito the "1outwardly from the marginal iside fedg edges of the seat; The leg bracesextend outwardlyfr the outer'sides or the legs to provide a'supportingurface on which corresponding leg braces can r e'st. Thusithe seats canbe stacked, one upon another, to form 1a corn- .pact and stable stack ofchairs.

Throughout this specification, in describing the chair the wordsinwardly and outwardly I are listed. Inwardly shall be taken .to meanavvaynfirom the .c titer of the seat. Front means toward the firontlof'the'chair or to the left as :shownliniE ig. 2. "ffl learward vthechair means towards the baclc of.tl lelchair or to the right as shown inFig. 2. Other terins stich as ihori'zohta and vertical. areusedaslmeanin g horizontal or vertical to the floor or surface on which.the chair rests.

Referring to the drawings reference numeral 1 indicates one of thechairsrincluding the =seat orrsliell 10 and the support structure :20.

The shell 10 is of a reinforced synthetic fitbre resin. It is moldedunder heat and pressure to give the desired shape. Preferably the edgesare additionally reinforced tot-prevent splitting Theresinsmostlconventionallyiused are polyesters of various coloredpigmentation. fThelfihres most commonly used :arerfilamentary glass..The sliell .10 :is shaped to conform to the body xcontou'r .of'ianaverage 'person'. The material is somewhat resilient making thechaircomfortable. Q

The plastic material from which the chair is made is relatively light.It is not readily subject to damageror breakage because of its-resiliency. It has high-impact and surface abrasion resistance.Changes' in' moisture content of the air Willindt affect it. his verminprio'of and may be readily cleaned with soapand =W'ater' 'or a The baseor supporting frame {20 includes a front standard or leg structure 21and a rear fstarldard oril'eg structure'ZZ. "Each of{thesestructuresis-identical. Ea ch isforme'd from a single pieceof'tiibula'r inetal. 'The front leg structure 21 includes thetwoflegs-23 and24fjoiried at the top by a cross piece consisting ofthe'dovvnwafdly and'inwardly extending sidep OrtionsZS and t errnediatehorizontal straight 'portion26 (-Figs. '1 7'). i I legs 27 and 28connected at their tops by the ress including the downwardly extending.end portions 29aind thehorizontal intermediate portioni30.

Mountingstraps 31 are secured by welding or any other suitable means to"the cross pieces of thei ffront and .l eg structures 21 and 22.Themountingstraps 31 are .secured to the downwardlyfleirtending endportions2 fiid 29 immediately adjacent the point where the ten mergewith the intermediatestraight portions 126 ,and 30.

(The ends .of the mounting straps are bent upwardly and and 7).-'adapted to receive a hook 42 mounted to the other brace made with aminimum number of parts.

- the front and rear legs.

welding or any other suitable means. The hook 42 and .loop 41 extendoutwardly from the side braces.

-' 1 v 3 slightly twisted to provide a supporting surface conformingwith the contoured bottom surface of the shell 10. Holes 32 are providedin the ends of the mounting straps through which a screw can'be insertedfor securing the seat to the mounting straps and thus to the supportingframe. T-he mounting straps 31 are secured to the circular shock mounts33 which preferably are adhesively secured to the bottom of the shell.Shock mounts 33 each have an interna lythreaded female insert adapted toreceive a screw. This shock mount is of similar construction to thatdescribed and claimed in Patent No. 2,647,136.

In the preferred form ofthis invention, the front legs vZZ'rand 24extend downwardly and forwardly. The rear vlegs 27 and 28 extenddownwardly and rearwardly. The :legs are held and supported inthis'position by the leg .braces 40 secured to the outer sides of thelegs and by the straps 31. .The leg braces 40 are fabricated of a heavygauge wire formed into an elongated ring.

A loop-41 is secured to one of the braces 40 (Figs. 4 It extendsoutwardly from the brace and is 40 (Figs. 2, 3 and 5). The loop 41 is aU-shaped, heavy gauge wire secured to the top cross wire 43 of one ofthe rings 40 (Fig. 4). The hook 42 is also a heavy gauge jwire havingtwo legs 44 parallel to each other and connected by the U-shaped hook45. The hook 45 extends outwardly from the legs. The legs 44 are securedto the top and bottom cross wires of one of the rings 40. The

jwidth of both the loop 41 and the hook 45 is such that the hook 45 fitswithin the loop (Fig. 5). The loop 41 and hook 42 are secured to theirrespective braces 40 by a resistance weld or any other suitable means.

The entire supporting frame 20 may be of aluminum or any other materialbut it is more commonly of tubular steel. The side braces are usually ofa steel wire however aluminum or any other suitable material can beused.

' The mounting straps can be made of any suitable material. All of theseparts can be suitably plated as with chrome. The shock mounts 33 are ofrubber or any other resilient material.

The assembled chair It should be evident that the chair of thisinvention is These include the identical front and rear leg structures21 and 22, the

. .shell 10, the mounting straps 31, the shock mounts 33 and the sideleg braces 40 are also identical except for the means for joining two ormore chairs together. The

' supporting frame 20 is preferably of an all welded. construction andit is secured to the'shell by screws 47.

The assembled supporting structure is best shown in Figs. 1 and 7. Thefront and rear leg structures 21 and 22 are arranged with the front legs23 and 24 extending 1 downwardly and forwardly. The rear legs 27 and 28extend downwardly and rearwardly. The cross pieces 26 and 30 are spacedone from another (Fig. 7) and are held in that position by the mountingstraps 31 secured thereto by welding or any other suitable means. Theforward and rearward positions of the legs are maintained by the sidebraces 40, secured at their side portions to This attachment is made bya screw passing through the hole 32 of the mounting strap to be securedin the internally threaded female insert of the shock mount. With theseshock mounts 33 properly 7 located, theseat is placed on the shockmounts with the internally threaded female inserts aligned with theholes 32. The screws 47' extending through holes 33 are threaded intothe inserts of the shock mounts, securing the seat to the supportingframe 20.

tioning of the side leg braces relative to the side marginal edges ofthe seat 10 are important. Fig. 7 illustrates this relationship. Thesupport frame 20 is shown wider than the seat. This is necessary topermit the frame to pass over the seat or shell 10 of another seat.

The vertical spacing of the side braces 40 is important. Both the upperand lower limits of their vertical position on the legs is establishedat the point which provides effective cross-bracing for the legsand atthe same time provides a means for supporting a chair stacked above it.The side braces index the chairs providing a vertical and stable stackin such a manner that the chair shells are spaced from one another andfrom the frames for protecting the shells against abrasion.

In the preferred form the angular relationship of the legs to each otherand their lateral spacing is limited only by two factors. The legs mustbe able to pass about the shell 10 to permit stacking and the legs ofone chair must not spread laterally sufficiently to interfere with thejoining of one chair to another. However, where the loop and hookarrangement is not used and the chairs are not to be joined, this latterlimitation does not apply.

The position and shape of the side leg braces are important. The bracesare elongated and secured to the legs at approximately the same verticalposition one-third down the legs. In other words the points ofattachment of the leg braces to the legs lie substantially in horizontalplane. This gives symmetry to the chair and at the same time contributesto the stability of a stack formed by such chairs. The side braces,being located approximately one-third down the leg, provide a supportsurface on which the brace of the upper chair can rest upon the brace ofthe chair beneath. This support surface is long enough in a horizontaldirection to prevent the stacked chairs from tipping forward orbackwardly.

When the chairs are stacked one upon another as shown in Fig. 8, thebottom cross-piece of the side braces 40 of one chair rests directly onthe top cross-piece of the side braces of the chair beneath it. The sidebraces 40 have an adequate cross-section so that they extend asutficient distance outwardly from the leg to' provide an adequatesupporting surface.

A plurality of these chairs may be joined together, while in use,depending upon the wishes of the user. If they are to be joined, theuser simply lifts one chair a short distance and engages the hook 45into the loop 41 of the adjacent chair. Any number of chairs can behooked together in this fashion. When joined together, the spacing andalignment of the chairs is automatically determined. This has severalobvious advantages. On the other hand, the chairs can be usedindividually and despite the joining feature, have a pleasingappearance.

It is significant that the braces on the side of the legs serve severalfunctions while at the same time giving a good and pleasing appearanceto the chair. The braces provide means for joining several chairstogether in orderly manageable rows. They serve as braces for the legs.They index, support, and provide clearance for the various components ofthe chair when stacked in vertical rows.

The plastic seat of this chair is more attractive than conventionalchairs designed for temporary use and stored.

- It requires no maintenance such as re-upholstering or The width of thesupporting frame, that is the width I of th e'front and rear legstructures, and the lateral posispring replacement.

After the chairs have been used and it is desired to store them in acompact storage area, the chairs are quickly separated simply by liftingand stacking one on another in a manner shown in Fig. 8. The leg bracesrest on each other, maintaining positive spacing between the shells andpreventing any scratching or marring of the shells. At the same time, acompact stack of chairs is obtained since the side. braces,collectively, forma supporting column on each side of the stack. Becauseof the strength of the chair and theteatures previously described, thestack is stable allowing the stack to he i'nade relatively highwithoutdanger of tipping or collapsing.

ii'no'ther advantage of this invention is the structural jdisassociationof the 'leg structure or base from the seat structure. Shou'ld either bedamaged, it alone may be replaced without the expense. of purchasing theother component. The substitution is both quick and simple "since only=t-he four screws 47 are involved.

Having described our invention, it should be realized that there isprovided a simple, strong and lightweight chair made with a minimum ofparts adapted to quick and inexpensive mass assembly methods. Thechair'can be used with "other chairs and locked thereto for formingstraight rows of chairs and forp'reventing the chairs from beingdispersed throughout the'ehtire hall in which they are being used.

It should be understood that in describing this invention certainfeatures have been described which do not neces'sarily constitute a partof this invention. Further, various other 'ei'n'bodim'ents can be madeof this inven- Etion which will be entirely within the spirit of thisinvention. These embodiments and modifications are covered by thisinvention unless the appended claims expressly state otherwise.

Weclaiin:

1. A chair construction'conrprising: a seat; a front leg structureincluding a pair of legs connected together at the top by a cross piece;a rear leg structure identical to said front le'g s't-ructur'e; saidfront and rear leg structures being operatively secured at said -.crosspieces to the under side of said seat for supporting said seat; and apair of substantially identical braces fixedly secured toand extendingbetween said front and rear legs, said braces forming vertically spacedupper and lower bearing surfaces extending laterally outwardly from saidlegs, said upper bearing surfaces forming supports on which the lowerbearing surfaces of .the leg braces of an identical 'chair seat :when.two .of the :chairs are stacked with the legs and feet of thechairsslightly aspaced vertically.

chair constructioncomprising: a.seat; a front leg structure including aone piece tube bent to form a pair of legs connected together at the topby a cross piece; a rear leg structure identical to said front legstructure; said front and rear leg structure being operatively securedto the under side of said seat at said cross pieces for supporting saidseat; and a pair of substantially identical ring-shaped, elongated, wirebraces fixedly secured to and between said front and rear legs, saidring shaped braces having spaced upper and lower sections formingvertically spaced upper and lower bearing surfaces extending laterallyoutwardly from said legs, said upper bearing surfaces of said uppersections forming supports on which the lower bearing surfaces of saidlower sections of the leg braces of an identical chair seat when two ofthe chairs are stacked with the legs and feet of the chairs slightlyspaced vertically.

3. A chair construction comprising: a seat having marginal side edges; apair of front legs and a pair of rear legs secured to and supportingsaid seat; a pair of side braces; said front legs being disposed at anangle to said rear legs whereby the legs of said chair may be verticallytelescoped over the legs of an identical chair; said braces beingsecured to said inclined legs forming an A-shaped support on each sideof said chair; said A-shaped support being offset laterally outwardly ofsaid marginal side edges of said seat; said braces being extendedoutwardly of said legs and vertically positioned on said legs betweenthe upper and lower portions of said legs; said braces formingvertically spaced upper and lower bearing surfaces extending laterallyoutwardly from said legs; said upper bearing surfaces forming supportson which the lower bearing surfaces of the leg braces of an identicalchair seat when two of the chairs are stacked with the legs and seat ofthe chairs slightly spaced vertically,

6 4. in a furniture tbase lconstrnction adapted to :be stacked one uponanother in columns, said :base comprising: :four leg elements inclinedfrom .each anther whereby the-legs of said base may :he verticallytelescoped over the legs of an identical :base; lmeans rigidly-securingsaid leg elements together at the upper end of said base;

said leg elements being :grouped into two pairs, one v on each side ofsaid base; said legs having inner and :outer sides; a brace memberextending between and rigidly secured to each leg of each of said pairsbetween the vertically.

5. In a furniture base construction adapted to The stacked one uponanother in columns, said base :compri'sing: a pair of inverted U-shapedstandards, the sides of said standards forming legs; said standardsconverging at their upper ends and means rigidly securing said standardstogether at said upper ends; a brace member extending-between saidstandards one on each-side thereof; said braces being external of saidbase and parallel to the plane of the lower ends of said legs; Esaidbraces forming vertically spaced upper and lower bearing surfacesextending laterally outwardly from saidlegs, said upper bearing surfacesforming supports on :which the lower bearing surfaces of the leg bracesof an identical chair seat when two of the chairs are stacked with thelegs and feet of the chairs slightly spaced vertically.

6. In a furniture base construction adapted to be stacked one uponanother-in columns, said base comprising: a front leg structurebent'into an inverted generally U-shape to form a laterally extendingtop cross member and .a pair of legs; a rear leg structure identical tosaid front leg structure; said front and rear leg structures convergingupwardly and means connecting said cross members of said front and rearleg structures; a pair of side braces, each extending between andsecured to a front and a rear one of said legs and spaced from both theupper and lower ends of said legs; said side braces forming verticallyspaced upper and lower bearing surfaces extending outwardly from saidlegs, said upper bearing surfaces forming supports on which the lowerbearing surfaces of the leg braces of an identical base seat when two ofthe bases are stacked with the corresponding legs of the basesvertically spaced.

7. In a furniture base construction adapted to be stacked one uponanother in columns, said base comprising: a front leg structure bentinto an inverted generally U-shape to form a laterally extending topcross member and a pair of parallel legs; a rear leg structure identicalto said front leg structure; said front and rear leg structuresconverging upwardly and means connecting said cross members of saidfront and rear leg structures; a pair of side braces, each extendingbetween and secured to a front and a rear one of said legs and spacedfrom both the upper and lower ends of said legs; said braces formingvertically spaced upper and lower bearing surfaces extending outwardlyfrom said legs, said bearing surfaces forming supports on which thelower bearing surfaces of the leg braces of an identical base seat whentwo of the bases are stacked with the corresponding legs of the basesvertically spaced.

8. In a furniture base construction adapted to be stacked one uponanother in columns, said base comprising: a front leg structure bentinto an inverted generally U-shape to form a laterally extending topcross member and a pair of parallel legs; a rear leg structure identicalto said front leg structure; said front and rear leg structuresconverging upwardly and means connecting said cross membersof said frontand rear leg structures; said legs each having inner and outer surfaces;a pair of side braces, each extending between and secured to a front anda rear one of said legs and vertically spaced from both the upper andlower ends of said legs; said side braces forming vertically spacedupper and lower bearing surfaces extending outwardly from said legs;said braces having inner surfaces spaced laterally of said base adistance equal to the lateral spacing of said outer surfaces of saidlegs; said upper bearing surfaces of said braces forming supports onwhich the lower bearing surfaces of the leg braces of an identical baseseat when .two of the bases are stacked with the corresponding legs ofthe bases spaced vertically and the inner surfaces of the braces of theidentical base being cooperative with .the outer surfaces of the legs ofsaid base for limiting relative lateral movement of the bases withrespect to each other.

9. A chair base construction adapted to be stacked one upon another incolumns, said base comprising: a front leg structure bent into aninverted generally U-shape to form a laterally extending top crossmember and a pair of parallel legs; a rear leg structure identical tosaid front leg structure; said front and rear leg structures convergingupwardly and means connecting said cross members of said front and rearleg structures; a seat secured to said connecting means, the sidemargins of said seat being spaced inwardly from said legs; a pair "ofside braces, each extending between and secured to a front and a rearone of said legs and spaced from both the upper and lower ends of saidlegs; said side braces forming vertically spaced upper and lower bearingsurfaces forming supports on which the lower bearing surfaces of the legbraces of an identical chair base seat when two of the bases are stackedwith the corresponding legs and seats of the chairs vertically spaced.

10. A chair construction comprising: a seat having a pair of legs oneach side thereof extending therefrom to support said seat; said legs ina front and back direction converging toward said seat and laterally ofsaid seat being parallel; said legs having outer and inner sides; a pairof leg braces, one of said braces extending between and secured to bothlegs of each of said pairs of legs between said seat and the lower endsof said legs; said leg braces having vertically spaced upper and lowerbearing surfaces extending outwardly beyond said outer sides of saidlegs, said upper bearing surfaces forming supports on which the lowerbearing surfaces of leg braces of an identical chair seat when two ofthe chairs are stacked with the legs and seats of the chairs slightlyspaced vertically.

11. A chair construction comprising: a seat having a pair of legs oneach side thereof extending therefrom to support said seat, said legsbeing inclined from each other whereby the legs of said chair may bevertically telescoped over the legs of an identical chair; said legshaving inner and outer sides; a pair of leg braces, one of said bracesextending between and secured to both legs of each of said pairs of legsand vertically spaced from both said seat and the lower ends of saidlegs; said leg braces having upper and lower bearing surfaces extendingoutwardly from the outer sides of said legs, said upper bearing surfacesforming supports on which the lower bearing surfaces of leg braces of anidentical chair seat when two of the chairs are stacked with the legsand seats of the chairs slightly spaced vertically.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS780,694 White Ian. 24, 1905 2,098,888 Schadler Nov. 9, 1937 2,362,426Wyatt Nov. 7, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS 135,980 Austria Dec. 27, 1933 601,889Great Britain May 13, 1948 605,035 Great Britain July 14, 1948 705,185France Mar. 3, 1931

